Martin Steel-String Backpacker Acoustic Guitar

by Martin

Product Features

• Solid topMahogany neck, back, and sidesEnclosed chrome tunersLightweight, small size

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B0002IL37Y
• Item model number: 11GBPC
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,692 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #89 in Musical Instruments > Guitars > Acoustic Guitars > Acoustic

Product Description

Don't let the diminutive size of the Martin Backpacker Acoustic Guitar fool you. A braced, solid tonewood top with a solid mahogany neck, back, and sides gives this cool little guitar a surprisingly big projection. Built to withstand the rigors of camping, hiking, and off-road traveling. Includes high-quality chrome-enclosed tuners. A unique bridge on the nylon-string version accepts either plain or ball-end classic strings. Weighs less than 2-1/2 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Plays rights - sounds weak, May 10, 2005

By 

Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Martin Steel-String Backpacker Acoustic Guitar

The Martin Backpacker instruments are very useful for the person who:

1. Wants an instrument that "feels right" - meaning the frets are in the right place, the intonation is accurate, the scale is correct, etc.

2. Wants an instrument that you can literally throw into a duffel back or backpack and carry into remote places. (Many American Servicemen I know took them on deployments.)

The tradeoff is that the teeny-tiny sound-box produces a small, tinny noise that is weak in volume and almost metallic in tone - the closest thing I can think of to describe what it SOUNDS like is one of those old hand-cranked jack-in-the-boxes.

It DOES play right, though, and if you want an instrument that will keep your fingers in shape, is decent to practice on, and you CAN take it anywhere you can sling it over your shoulder - then the Martin Backpacker is right up your alley.

47 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Realistic expectations improve the experience!!, December 1, 2005

By 

D. Reinstein "marindavid" (Fairfax, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Martin Steel-String Backpacker Acoustic Guitar

After having read many reviews of this instrument, I decided to take the plunge anyway - at a point in my life where a good many long-distance trips are coming up and my 40-year old (hard to play and wonderful) Harmony Sovereign full-size Western Flat Top) is just too cumbersome to travel with. Many of the criticisms leveled by other users are certainly valid.

It is a very small and oddly shaped small instrument with a proportionately small sound. It would, indeed, be easier to play if the saddle were lowered a bit and if it came out of the box as the manufacturer and designer recommended re strings - it does not. It is awkward to hold.

All of that being said, I am able to honestly recommend it - perhaps because my old Harmony is even harder to play! I have never been spoiled by the experience of owning a really well made guitar (like a full size Martin or Gibson)- so, to me, it plays easily and produces a sound much like I feel it is reasonable to expect from such a small body.

I have had it for about a week and am enjoying it a lot.

Of course, it sounds best in small spaces, wired with thin gauge (bronze 80/20) strings and played with a thin pick.... something that is taking some adjustment on my part - having always used medium gauge picks before.

Because the instrument is disproportionately heavy on the tuning-peg end, playing it standing (pretty much a requirement) works a lot better with the strap tied to the tuner - rather than connected with the hardware installed on the neck side of the Backpacker's mini-body. Otherwise, the tuning end is drawn by gravity making it harder to play than is necessary.

The prices have come down quite a bit - partly, I expect, due to the poor reviews both here and at other sites.

I paid $160. from SameDayMusic - shipping included.

To paraphrase an old tune:

"If you can't play the guitar you love, love the one you play." Attitude has a sound of its own!

This does not require a theatrical suspension of disbelief so much as it necessitates realistic expectations and the ability to enjoy a good effort to create a truly portable Martin.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A different breed of guitar, November 21, 2006

By 

Sheldon (Aspen, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Martin Steel-String Backpacker Acoustic Guitar

The cool thing about this guitar is that it's very portable, but don't compare it to your regular, full-size acoustic.

It's a bit hard to get used to, as the guitar wants to twist and turn in your hands, and it can't be rested on your leg when you play sitting. You have to use the strap, even when seated, and you kinda rest your forearm and elbow on the "side" of the guitar to offset the weight of the neck. Once you get the hang of it your hand will fall right over the strings and the instrument becomes very playable. I got mine because of a shoulder injury, and when held properly I don't have to reach over the top of the guitar as my elbow is pretty much right at my side. And while the neck is a bit thick, it plays and feels much like a normal size guitar.

I took the advice of another here and put Martin Silk & Steel strings on it. Wow, what a difference. While it doesn't sound like a D-18, it really sounds like a guitar now. Go ahead and play it with the included strings, but I highly recommend changing over to hear the difference. You'll lose just a bit of tone and sustain from the steel strings, but in my opinion it's well worth the tradeoff. That banjo sound, which some like and some hate, is gone now.

The guitar seems to be made extremely well, and looks like you could use it to paddle down the river, beat off a few wild animals yet still play tunes when you get back to camp.

I gave it 5 stars for what it is, and I would not recommend this as an only guitar or a first guitar for a beginner or child. It really is made for travel, to have as another unique guitar for your collection or just to have fun with. However, once my shoulder healed I still pick it up a lot.

Do watch our for cheap knockoffs that look like the Backpacker. The Martin is made of all solid tonewoods and sounds like it. It's not a toy.